And so—
With the overwhelming power of his telekinesis, Alex effortlessly carried Arthur out of the Trench's territory.
At last—
Deep in the ocean, an incomparably violent whirlpool appeared.
Just how fierce was this whirlpool?
So fierce that even absolute sea-blooded nobles like Aquaman and Mera would be utterly unable to resist it.
Yet before Alex, it was nothing at all.
"This is the place."
Alex stood calmly before the whirlpool, a trace of excitement flashing across his face.
Based on his memory of the movie, passing through this whirlpool would lead to another "island."
And the entrance to where the Sacred Trident lay was hidden inside a "waterfall cave" on that island.
"What kind of place is this?"
"Why is there something like this at the bottom of the sea?"
Arthur couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Go through it, and you'll see your mother," Alex said seriously, turning to Arthur.
"Just go through it? That sounds… not difficult at all."
Arthur scratched the bridge of his nose.
Even with his abilities, he couldn't possibly withstand a current of this magnitude.
But Alex didn't waste any more words.
Whoosh!
He shot straight toward the whirlpool.
"Okay!"
Arthur stopped hesitating and followed immediately.
However, unlike Alex, Arthur didn't have the strength to advance so calmly toward the eye of the whirlpool.
Halfway there, he was swallowed up by the terrifying current.
"Ahhh!"
Amid a scream worthy of a horror movie, Arthur was spun around like laundry inside a washing machine drum, violently dragged toward the center.
After a bout of dizzying disorientation—
Arthur suddenly felt the water around him calm down.
He quickly stabilized himself.
He realized he had been "transported" to another sea area, seemingly surrounding a small island.
Instinctively, Arthur swam toward the island.
Splash!
Water sprayed up as Arthur leapt smoothly onto solid ground.
Then he immediately saw Alex standing face-to-face with a woman.
The woman was looking at Alex with a strange, guarded expression, clearly not expecting an outsider to appear here.
"This person…"
"This feeling…"
Even before seeing her face clearly, Arthur felt an indescribable sense of familiarity.
It was a strange sensation—
As if this woman were an indispensable part of his life, despite it being their first meeting.
"Could it be…?"
Arthur's breathing grew heavy.
He was completely unable to stay calm.
Hearing the sound, the woman standing before Alex instinctively turned her head and glanced at Arthur.
Boom!
Arthur felt as if his brain had exploded.
It was her!
His mother!
Exactly the same as in the photographs!
Alex hadn't lied to him—he truly hadn't!
He had really brought Arthur to his mother!
That's right.
The woman standing before Alex was indeed Aquaman Arthur's mother—
The former Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna.
The moment Atlanna saw Arthur, she froze as well.
Like a puppet, she murmured as she walked toward him.
When Atlanna left, Arthur had been nothing more than a little child.
Now he had grown into a fully built, rugged man.
His appearance had undergone earth-shaking changes.
Naturally, Atlanna couldn't recognize him by looks alone.
But through an indescribable, almost mystical feeling, she knew instantly.
This man—
Was her son.
"Arthur!"
Atlanna embraced Arthur with overwhelming emotion.
"Mother… it really is you!"
Arthur hugged his mother tightly, his emotions surging.
"Alex, you did it!"
Holding his mother with one arm, Arthur looked at Alex with deep gratitude.
"I'll keep my promise to you as well!"
"That's good enough," Alex nodded calmly.
He didn't interfere further with the reunion of mother and son.
Instead, he turned and walked toward a cliff on one side of the island.
A waterfall poured down from the cliff.
Behind that waterfall lay a cave.
Inside the cave—
Rested the remains of Atlantis's first king.
And with them, the Sacred Trident.
Of course—
There was also the terrifying guardian of the Sacred Trident: Karathen.
A legendary monster so fearsome that even the Atlanteans themselves regarded it with dread.
During the twenty years Queen Atlanna had been trapped in this place, she had tried countless times to retrieve the Sacred Trident.
Every single attempt ended with her fleeing in defeat—on several occasions, she had nearly lost her life.
The creature's power was evident.
"Please, wait!"
Seeing Alex walk straight toward the waterfall, Queen Atlanna hurriedly called out to him.
"I don't know who you are, but it's extremely dangerous back there. You'll die."
"You mean the creature inside?"
Alex raised an eyebrow, completely unconcerned.
"To me, that's not a danger at all."
"You know what's behind the waterfall?"
Atlanna's face filled with shock.
She had only discovered the Sacred Trident and Karathen by accident.
And if she hadn't been exiled to this place, she would never have known.
After all—
To reach this island, one must pass through the Trench's territory.
What sane person would ever go near the Trench?
Impossible.
So how did this man know all of this?
Atlanna turned her questioning gaze toward Arthur.
"Mother, this is Alex—people call him the Homelander. He's… mysterious."
Arthur shrugged helplessly.
"To be honest, I don't really know him either. But he knows a lot of things no one else does."
Atlanna's expression grew serious.
She stared at Alex and asked, "Since you know about that creature, then you must also know about—"
"The Sacred Trident?" Alex nodded. "Of course."
"That's exactly what I came here for."
After saying that, Alex didn't waste another word on her.
He walked straight toward the waterfall.
"Wait!"
"Please, wait!"
Atlanna kept calling out behind him.
She didn't believe for a second that Alex could defeat Karathen.
In her eyes, Alex was walking straight toward his death.
The kind-hearted Queen Atlanna couldn't bear to watch that happen.
Moreover—
The Sacred Trident was of immense importance.
It wasn't something just anyone had the right to claim.
This matter needed careful consideration.
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